You Are Important
by Sionna Dehr
Summary: Itachi plays the knight who rescues the princess when Brianna, the princess of the elves, gets captured by her enemies on the way back from a solo mission. OC/Itachi


**Author's Note: **Hey, its been a while since I posted or updated anything. I'm not really sure how I feel about the rest of the stories that I've started writing, but I've been writing small excerpts from my imagination as well as short stories like this one. I hope you all like this. It sort of came to me out of no where and I just had to write it down as fast as possible. Read and Review Please!

* * *

><p><strong>You Are Important<strong>

Brianna couldn't believe her unhappy misfortune this time around the bend. Normally, when she was wounded during one of her solo missions, she was able to find a safe place to heal for a while then return to Konohagakure with seemingly minimal damage. Such a thing had worked in the past and kept her aunt from needing to assign her a bodyguard, but now she was certain that her ruse was up.

This was mostly due to the fact that she was surrounded by a missing ninja/Knight Elf group called Harensh. Apparently they worked alongside the Akatsuki because she was one of the members there with them staring at her. It was the fish-man (his name escaped her) and he looked absolutely gleeful. Brianna, for her part, wouldn't have minded actually turning him into a fish, but a small insignificant problem lay with her mouth being gaged.

The fish-man, as she liked to call him, smiled at her.

"I see that you're enjoying your stay with us?" he asked almost gleefully.

Brianna continued to give him a steely teal eyed glare- angry that he had the nerve to speak to her the way that he was. She was a princess, sure a princess working as a ninja in order to escape her odious royal life and gain at least some fighting experience before she ascended the throne of her people, but they had no right to speak to her in such a way! Even among Orochimaru's group, she had never been so disrespected in her life! Of course, the disrespect was most likely due to the fact that the Knight Elves were around and that, at least, she could somewhat forgive. The Knight elves and the royal family pretty much had it in for each other ever since the Knight elves broke from the main race and became the sub-race.

So, let's just assume that everyone in the thick, wooded forest doesn't like her one bit.

Fish-man smirked, "Do you know why you've been captured besides the obvious?"

She shook her head. The reason for the Knight elves to not have run off with her totally escaped her. She knew why Kisame (she did remember his name) was there because Naruto was practically her brother. She knew that they were after Naruto and she also knew that capturing her would bring Naruto out into the open. Brianna didn't want her stupid, surrogate, brother to try and save her life, but apparently she had no choice in the matter and she couldn't tell him otherwise. She couldn't be the one to stop him and tell him that she would rescue the person he cared about. She was stuck.

"Well, I'm sure that you divined part of the reason to be centered around Uzamaki Naruto, is that right?" he asked.

She nodded. Maybe if she cooperated, he'd let slip some valuable information?

"Well, that is a part of it. The rest involve Uchiha Sasuke. Madera has plans for that boy and he intends to use them," explained Kisame.

Madera? But- She cursed her misfortune. So, she was going to get both of her former teammates into a pickle. She knew that if Naruto couldn't go after her, then Sasuke and Sakura would. While the two of them were powerful ninja in their own way, Sasuke and Sakura hadn't he defenses to fend of Knight elves' attacks. Which meant that Brianna was going to have to do something, but her bonds were not going to let her.

She didn't mind not getting rescued. She figured that sooner or later she could escape when her captor's backs were turned… maybe.

Brianna inwardly knew that the situation was hopeless, there was no way on the green earth that she would be able to get out without some form of help. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura would come for her, she knew that they would. They were her old teammates and they were loyal to her. She wished that she had the ability to tell them otherwise.

Kisame smirked, "Sorry to disappoint you my girl, but they won't be able to save you. You are the bait."

She would have given anything to murder Kisame, but even if she had gotten free, there was her wound to think about. The Knight elves had healed it just enough for it to not be serious or become infectious, but they had left enough of it for it to become a nuisance for her in a fight.

It was around that time of personal anger that Brianna's ears pricked up with the sound of a knife slitting a throat and a body falling to the ground. She blinked. What? There were three other sounds like that as well before the Knight elves became aware of the intruder. Kisame looked up at one of the leaders and cursed.

"Who the hell is it then?" he hissed.

"I will take you all down with my youthful feet of flames!"

Brianna's eyes widened with a mix of horror of admiring awe. Lee? Rock Lee to her rescue?

"Lee you're an idiot! Don't go charging in like that!" screamed a furious human female voice that belonged to Lee's teammate, TenTen.

Brianna wasn't sure about what to do with this knowledge. All that this meant was that Neji wasn't far behind. Sure enough, the Hyuuga prodigy had waisted no time in dispatching a circle of Knight elves before they could react. Even still, they needed someone with some magical knowledge or else they would get themselves killed very fast.

That person was soon revealed to be none other then the Uchiha prodigy, Uchiha Itachi who, consequently, was standing right behind Kisame.

The fish-man turned to look at the man behind him for a second before Itachi's sharingan had locked him into a trance. Behind Itachi, was Shisui grinning like a Cheshire cat and waving at her like some maniac. Such an analogy was not far from the actual truth.

The Uchiha heir knelt down beside her and undid her gag so that she could both speak and breath properly.

"Dammit Uchiha! You're not what I wanted to see right now!" she snapped.

Itachi rolled his eyes, "Brianna, now isn't really the time for this."

Shisui clapped Itachi on his shoulder, "I'm going to take care of the Knight Elf leader for you Itachi. You just focus on your fiancé's safe return to Konoha."

He disappeared and Itachi began to work on Brianna's bonds. Brianna, for her part, didn't even blush at Shisui's reminder of her and Itachi's unwanted relationship. It wasn't like she had wanted to be figuratively engaged to him. She didn't like him. At all. She swore on the horse of the White Rider.

When her bonds were cut Itachi noticed the wound on her side that was still open and oozing blood a bit. She winced at the steely stare she received from his sharingan lit eyes and knew that a lecture was going to surface. She could wait for that one.

"It's just a flesh wound," she insisted.

Itachi shook his head, "It looks like it was worse at one point."

"It's not anymore!" she snapped and winced from the pain of talking fast and loud.

Itachi shook his head and sighed in exasperation. There was a reason why Sakura, Brianna, and Tsunade got along like fish in a pond. He picked her up into his arms and jumped away from the battle scene as the sounds of Lee tearing down a few trees resounded with multiple leafy crashes. Brianna glared at nothing.

"I can walk," she muttered.

"With your wound as it is now? They healed it enough to keep you alive, not because they could only heal it partially. Their medic is well trained in your healing arts," Itachi chided severely.

Brianna grunted and then narrowed her eyes at nothing, "How did you know-"

"I was watching them with Neji in order to get a good battle-strategy. I made a point to take out the healer first," explained the ANBU captain.

Brianna nodded. So, Itachi had been the one to make the first move. She should have known.

There was silence between then for a while before Itachi finally decided to lead up to the pending lecture on how princesses should be more careful about how they fight and conduct their missions and how her being in Konoha is a privilege that few high ranking elven females were allowed. She knew that the conversation would go in that direction eventually.

"Why didn't you come straight back home with your wound or contact ANBU? I was in the vicinity returning from a mission when you were on your mission," he informed her.

Brianna scowled, "Why do you think? It's because I want to be able to go on solo missions. If aunt Tsunade gets wind of my condition coming back then she'll make me take you or Shisui along on all of my missions."

Itachi kept his face straight as he listened, "You are not a free agent, Brianna. You cannot do as you please. You have an obligation to your people to remain alive."

Brianna felt angry and resentful as well as annoyed. Here came the lecture.

"How long have you been doing this?" asked Itachi suddenly.

Brianna was silent, but her silence was all Itachi needed to confirm what he suspected of her.

"That was reckless of you," now he sounded angry.

Brianna didn't even look at him, she knew that what she had done was reckless on all accounts but she didn't regret it. Apparently, Itachi felt differently.

"You should regret doing what you did, Brianna. As you might have noticed today, the Knight Elves are searching for you with renewed vigor. They are trying to hurt you," he chided.

Brianna remained silent.

"Brianna, if you give me your word that you will never do this again, I will not inform Hokage-sama about what you've been doing," Itachi bargained.

Brianna wasn't sure about what to make of this.

"Why?"

"Because if your esteemed aunt found out about this, she will become steamed, as it were, and sign you back up with Team Kakashi. While I'm certain that they would love you back with them, I know for a fact that you would like to retain most of the freedom allotted to you," explained the Uchiha heir.

Brianna's question actually wasn't answered, "No, I meant why do you care in the first place?"

Itachi was unusually awkwardly silent and Brianna wasn't sure about what to make of it. He stopped and sat her down on the mossy earth and began to make camp.

"We'll wait here for the others. It will be about three days for us to get back into the fire country and I want to make sure that your wounds are adequately taken care of," he informed her.

Brianna felt annoyed at the fact that he was evading her question, but decided that she most likely didn't want to know the answer. She watched him as he got out two blankets from his pack and also noted that he was extracting bandages as well. The elf princess suddenly realized what Itachi was intending to do and very pointedly told him "no" when he came towards her with a roll of bandages and a bottle of ointment in his hands.

Itachi was more patient then he felt.

"Brianna, this is ridiculous," he deadpanned.

"I'm not taking my shirt off in front of you. I'll wait for TenTen thank you very much!" she snapped back.

Itachi knelt down beside her and set the medical supplies down. He turned her head in his direction and met her gaze steadily.

"You need to stop being stubborn and accept help where its offered. Even if I am the one offering it. Your wound is still fairly serious and it may open up fully if I don't do something now," there was an edge to his quiet voice that told Brianna that resistance would be futile anyway.

He had, she knew, carefully avoided the subject of their engagement to each other.

"No," she said stubbornly.

Itachi felt that he should have seen that one coming. After all, it was Brianna he was talking to. He began to undo the strings of her green vest that lay on top of her brown shirt. She tried to slap his hands away, but found it more difficult with her wound still throbbing. With her vest gone, the button up shirt was exposed and Itachi began to unbutton it from the bottom. Brianna grabbed his hands and glared at him.

"I could have you arrested for this!" she hissed.

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "I am not violating you. I am trying to tend to your wound, something that you are not letting me do. Brianna, be reasonable. I'm not going to take the whole garment off."

She continued to glare at him.

"As your future husband, it is my duty to care for my fiancé when she has need of me," he reminded her.

She hated it when he pulled that card and allowed him, grudgingly, to get to her wound. He took an intake of breath.

"You should have contacted us when you got injured," he muttered again as he applied ointment to the wound.

Brianna didn't look at him. She didn't want to. He dressed her wound in silence and when he was finished he picked up the blanket that he had gotten for her and placed it over her body.

"Try not to move. When Neji arrives he will be able to check your body for magical or chakra related injuries that your captors might have applied," he told her.

Brianna nodded and closed her eyes. The pain of her wound had gone down a bit and she was beginning to feel drousy.

"You didn't answer my question from earlier," she reminded him.

Itachi's gaze changed from its normal cold mask to a soft look. As she drifted off to sleep she heard him say, "You are important to me."

She remembered thinking 'I don't understand.'

She did not remember whether or not she said those words. She also didn't remember the slight weight of his lips on her forehead. Even if she did she would have sworn that she had dreamed it.


End file.
